Path of Pain, Story of Menma
by SonceGG
Summary: What if Naruto left the village at the tender age of seven. Taught himself in the Ninja arts and taking up the alias Menma. Naruto only has one goal. He doesn't know any of Konoha's dark secrets, doesn't know his parents, not even of the Kyuubi. Watch as he struggles to achieve his ambition. !FuinjutsuNaruto !GreyNaruto !StrongNaruto
1. The Pain

''Speaking'' - ''Believe it''

_'Thinking' - 'I don't believe it'_

**Jutsu - Fire Style: Great fireball Justu!**

_**Location - Konohagakure no Sato**_

_**Chapter One: The Pain**_

Pain is a simple yet powerful feeling. One that creatures developed to help us survive. Yet we got more then we bargained for. Pain isn't just a feeling anymore. It is an emotion. Just like happines, love.., _Hate... _It is somthing we fear and cannot predict when or where it will happen. It just does.

Most people lived through pain. Either physical which can leave bruises and scars. Or the darker side of pain. Emotional pain is often found in connection with love, hate and greed. However this type of pain doesn't have as meny physical reprocuttions but mental. Craziness, hate, desire. All of these feelings are enchanced.

One who knows pain better then most is one Uzumaki Naruto. His pain was only partly physical. But being lonely was another problem altogether for him. He never had family, friends, even acquantinces were hard to find. For some reason he still to this day cannot find they hated him, glared at him like he was nothing more then some litter on the road. He loathed those stares. It felt like they were cutting him with their eyes.

So he did the only thing he could. He tried to make them laugh. Tried to get their attention. Oh he got their attention, However it was not in a positive way. When he became more vocal, they berated him, sometimes in worst cases even beaten him.

So he did the only thing that came to mind... He left.

The Sandaime was not happy with his choice, not happy at all. He thought Naruto was incapable of doing wrong. A kid who loved the village that despised him, right? He sent ANBU, jonin, chuunin squads searching for him, people that were capable of tracking down chuunin level nin.

They never found him. Not even prodigies like Itachi or Kakashi were unable to locate his whereabouts. Its like the damn kid evaporated into thin air. Of course he considered that he could have been kidnapped. But in the middle of the day in Konoha it was not too likely. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki probably got fed up with the people and left. That was five years ago. He was seven at the time. Just started the academy too. He wondered what Naruto would be like if he was still here.

The door croaked open ''Hokage-sama'' a bandaged man greeted the leader of Konoha. He was Danzo the Yami no Shinobi (Ninja of Darnkess). Even with his underminded tactics he only seeks what is best for Konoha in his eyes.

Sarutobi suppressed a sigh. It was a long day of paperwork and he simply didn't have the energy to deal with Danzo right now. Perhaps tomorrow, but not now. ''Danzo, i hope this isn't important. I am a tired old man afterall.'' the aged Hokage greeted.

Danzo acctualy smiled at this. He enjoyed conversations with Hiruzen. It was like talking to his opposite self. And you know what they say ''opposites attract''. ''Yes Hiruzen'' he started. ''I believe the roots of the village have found somthing that might interest you'' he always did this talking as if everyone didn't know his ROOT or The Foundation was still operative.

Even with this in mind the Professor knew that Danzo usually didn't come to his office just for the shits'n'giggles of it. No, this had to be somthing important if he would come to him. ''Well Danzo out with it.'' He was tired. He wanted to get straight to the point.

Danzo suppresed a smile and started. ''Yes, of course Hokage-sama. I believe my ROOT has discovered the location of one Uzumaki Naruto, that has been oh so elusive these past years.''

To say the Hokage was in shock was like saying grass was yellow. He was feeling meny things at the moment. Happiness, guilt and curiosity. But all of those overshadowed by worry. If Danzo found the son of the Yondaime. Then said son would have meny problems.

''A young masked individual around 11-13 years old with black hair calling himself Menma has started to appear around Fire country. He has been sighted _killing_ dozens of thugs, bandits and even some C to B rank missing-nins.'' The Sandaime processed the information throught but there was somthing off about the information that Danzo was giving him.

''Danzo im not sure you are aware, but Naruto-kun has bright yellow hair.'' the old man was looking sceptical about this whole situation.

''This is true, however Hiruzen. You forget that he outrun and simply escaped even my ROOT squads. I wanted to take the jinchuuriki for myself. But he was elusive. We just simply couldn't find him. Take into account that there are not meny children with the power to kill people walking around in the Fire country.''

''I see.'' he really didn't want to believe this was Naruto. Killing people at such a young age must be horrible to bear. ''Very well'' the Hokage started. ''I am going to send a couple of ANBU squads into the depths of Fire country'' he stated smiling. ''However should they fail. The _roots_ will simply have to go deeper.''

Danzo was now smiling. Hiruzen never indulged him in his little game of Roots as it was unnamely called. It only happend when somthing serious was about to happen. ''That is all i ask Hokage-sama, thank you'' with that the Yami no Shinobi simply left.

_**Undisclosed location: Fire Country**_

A boy no more then twelve years old was currently walking along the forest road. He had Kitsune ANBU style mask on his face. He wore a dark blue-grey robe with grey lining and a fur collar, fingerless opera-length black gloves wrapped in studded red-brown leather straps, baggy black pants, and red-brown sandals. This was Naruto Uzumaki. To the world known only as Menma.

He never stays in one place for too long. Usually it is to gather supplies for his main hideout. To train, find books about fuinjutsu, Nin, tai or even Genjutsu. By now he was probably a chuunin level-nin. He had a goal. An ambition. He wanted to set things right.

_'I am still not strong enough' _he mused. It was a simple observation. '_I will need somthing to make me ascend. Above the normal shinobi._' Suddenly a noise made him jump, breaking himself out of his musing he turned to the new appearences.

Making themselves appear were a couple of bandits. ''Hey kid give us all your money and we _might_ not hurt you'' the leader demanded.

He inwardly sighed. Menma didn't really like killing. But when faced with these kind of ''demons'' in human form he just couldn't help himself. He raised his hands and mutterd something in his raspy voice. ''**Fire Style: Great fireball technique**''

He started gathering chakra in his mouth and it expanded when the great fires went through the small hole in his mask. The bandits had a terrified look on their faces. Moments later the fireball hit them.

Their bodies laid on the ground black and burned. 'Still not big enough!' Even though it could kill every bandit with one shot Menma was not satisfied. ''Perhaps i should visit my village again'' he started musing. A few hours later he came to his destination. An old abandoned training mansion. It was supposedly used by the Toad Sage Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage himself. Walking inside he started musing about the great shinobi that supposedly lived and trained here.

Menma always idolised the Yondaime. He was the hero of his village afterall. Butchering Iwa-nin with his famous **Flying Thunder God technique**. He was one of the greatest shinobi of all time. The Toad Sage is not someone he had much information about. From what he could gather he is a spy master who worked with Orochimaru and Tsunade Senju. But they were all minor beings compared to the blond haired Hokage in his eyes. To be able to kill an army was simply amazing. Because of this the former blond haired jinchuuriki became interested in finding out about more iconic figures from the world. The most interesting he found were the founders of Konohagakure.

Uchiha Madara. The name that made the Sandaime Tsuchikage tremble. The man himself only exerted real presence when fighting the Shodai. Otherwise he held a calm and almost bored visage. The Uchiha clan head was also one of the greatest masters of Fire style techniques. The famed Great Fire Anihhilation was said to bring down armies. He was said to have mastered the sharingan to its fullest potential. This though confused the Kitsune wearing boy since from what he gathered mastering sharingan to its fullest was done by meny Uchiha before and after him. That information piqued his interests.

However his rival was no slouch either. Hashirama Senju. God of shinobi. The leader of the Senju clan and the bearer of the famed Kekkei Tota, Wood style or Mokuton. The ability to give chakra and convert it to life. It was one of the greatest dreams of meny men. It is said that Madara's rival used these techniques to build the village itself. That was merely a rumor, yet it was a believable one.

The masked anti-hero came up to a desk and sat down 'Perhaps i should begin in more advanced fuinjustu arts' he started thinking. Fuinjustu was an art he grasped with relative ease. Perhaps that one of the first pieces of literature he found were simply amazingly easy to understand. Perhaps it was in his genes, maybe his parents were masters in the art.

'I really should stop thinking about such trivial things' he thought. Thinking about family, how his life would have been like if he stayed in his village were in his mind. It was like a part of him longed visiting the place which he both hated and loved. Yes, Konoha was the place he never felt a part of but it was still his home.

He slowly checked the books the old training field had about fuinjustu and found one that piqued his interest. It wasn't all about fuinjutsu per say. But it was something he found simply fascinating. 'Well this should be interesting, The Bijuu and known sealing methods huh?'

With that he spent meny nights in the old mansion learning about meny of the worlds secrets.

**Well that is that! **

**My very first fanfic! What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Constructive critisism always welcome!**

**Now let me explain some things. First are the couple of things that annoy me in anti-hero or dark Naruto fics that won't be included in this one:**

**1. Naruto randomly gets information (like he leaves the village and suddenly he knows everything. It gets annoying.) This is my biggest concern with these kinds of stories. Don't get me wrong he will get all the truth in my story aswell. But he randomly learns of his parents. He greets his Bijuu when he is like 5 and it trains him? He knows of the Uchiha clan massacre just cuz yeah.**

**2. Randomly gets somthing like the sharingan. Sure its fun when the fics focus on him being an Uchiha. But when he just randomly gets it because yeah Dark Naruto fic must have sharingan. (Im not saying its an impossibility that he will get it in my story, however he will not simply unlock it)**

**3. Naruto stories are usually OOC. But sometimes they are too OOC. For example Naruto suddenly stops caring for his teammates (honestly the Sakura bashing is too much sometimes) and hating Jiraiya and Tsunade aswell? what? Am i missing something?**

**4. He randomly gets other abilities.**

**-.-**

**Alright DONE with my rant! Now onto the good stuffs. The pairing is still undecided. Most likely it will not be a Konoha kunoichi. Definitly not NaruHina i just don't wanna flood with more of that. **

**The justu Naruto WILL have:**  
><strong>- Basic rasengan (He won't use this jutsu too much)<strong>

**- Rasenringu (After obtaining the Fox power)**

**- Nine masked beasts Justu (Later on)**

**- Repulsion technique (most likely in a couple of chapters)**

**- Dai Rasenringu (MUCH later on)**

**- Bunch of Fire style tecniques (now mostly Fireball)**


	2. The Knowledge

''Speaking'' - ''Believe it''

_'Thinking' - 'I don't believe it'_

**Jutsu - Fire Style: Great fireball Justu!**

_**Location - Konohagakure no Sato**_

_**Chapter two: The knowledge**_

_**Menma's hideout**_

Knowledge is power they say. That is only half of the truth. While information is key to completing one's goals. Physical strength is also needed. One cannot do without the other. It is all about the balance in things. To put it simply, power has two halves. One is knowledge while the other is strenght. A mind without a strong body is weak and cannot complete the tasks planned out. While a strong body with a weak mind is another matter entirely. While one can complete most tasks set out, it cannot plan them or adapt. That is the truth of power.

Menma had enough physical strenght now it was time to obtain the second path of power. The book he picked out was an interesting read. That he was sure of. For beasts with such massive amounts of power to live is simply unfathomable. He was honestly scared of such an idea. This only reinforced his belief that the Yondaime was somthing special out of shinobi. To have mastered seals to such a degree. Being able to seal the strongest out of the tailed beasts was no small feat. It took both physical strenght and knowlegde to pull off.

Menma is now sitting on the floor cross legged. Trying to figure out a type of suppresion seal. Truly if one was able to seal a being of such massive power. Then what is it to say that they could not suppress it either. It would certainly be a sight to see. He finnaly connected the last few lines together into what seemed to be a full circle with lines coming in and out. He looked at the lock to make sure it was functional. _'I hope this works' _he thought as he put the seal on himself. At the point of contact he felt weak. Unnaturaly so. It is like all the energy he once had was gone. He quickly unlocked the seal. He felt his energy didn't come to him entirely. That was something to take note of. Using this seal would be a good tactic to use versus higher rank-nin. Alas he sighed, he wasn't making much progress on these seals and it frustrated him to no end. He started taking a stroll around the hideout. He still didn't get quite used to it even after a couple of years.

The now unmasked jinchuuriki started walking along the corridors thinking about the information he gathered from countless books he read. He entered what seemed like a liberary. It wasn't too organised as there were random papers and notes with diffrent seals, theories and algorithems. Walking up to the table he saw various seals and handwritings. This indicated that there were meny diffrent people working here. He inspected each one with his focus being completly on it. He found out that these were old and untested theories of the meny people that studied in this place. Even in its abandoned state it was a place of massive knowledge. Konoha must have forgotten about this place because all of this information was _very_ valuable. Notes on all arts, Nin,Tai,Gen,Fuinjutsu all of these in such a place. He truly did find a diamond in the rough. And the best part about it was that he didn't even check the entire place. There simply wasn't enough time for it. It was too huge and he needed supplies. With that in thought he started gathering the notes he found most important and relative.

The rest of the day the former blond spent training with Kunai, practise dumbies and chakra control excercises. His worst point was definetly chakra control. He of course knew that controling energy would be tough. But this was beyond immaginable. He couldn't help but wonder if everybody else his age has to go through the same thing..

_**Konohagakure no Sato**_

The age old hokage was currently wondering what to do about the genin teams. He was sure that they would work out fine but he worried. Teams these days were not as trained and ready for the battlefield as those in days past. Konoha was currently not in war however the tensions between the diffrent countrys was of course obvious to meny. Now especially with the addition of this new Otogakure no Sato the Elemental nations were a politically tense place. With the continous militarization of Kumo and Iwa one could not help but question if war was to come.

He looked outside his window. He saw a peaceful sunset with the children still playing outside. Now that was a sight for sore eyes. Peace was a beautiful thing in the shinobi world. It was a thing that meny want yet they do not do anything for it. He would like to think that he did meny things that would prevent war in Konoha. But alas it was not meant to be. Three great wars were a constant reminder of what this world acctualy was. A cruel and unforgiving place that might seem beautiful. In deceit, this world was the best shinobi.

A voice brought him out of his musing. It was his ANBU squad that he sent after this Menma character. The leader of the squad stepped forward. ''Hokage-sama, Team Turtle reporting in from recon mission.'' the Turtle masked ANBU started. Sarutobi simply listened, he was curious if they had found him. ''We have not found any whereabouts on the target. There was only one clue we were able to find. On the road from Tanzaku town to the land of greens there were remains of what looked like bandits. This of course could have been done by missing-nin but it is the only noteworthy discovery, sir''

The God of shinobi sighed. He knew it would be hard to find Menma but it looks like he was just as elusive as Naruto was. ''Very well Turtle. Just get me the written report in a few days. That will be all.'' The squad then quickly bowed their heads and Shunshined away. The now old man was getting irritated. One of the best ANBU tracking units have still been unable to find the boy. Sure it was a few days but they usually atleast found a trail.

Looking out the window _'Naruto my boy i wish you would have stayed.' _Thinking about the situation the boy was living in he really couldn't blame him. Being hated for something you didn't even know was a horrible task to live with. Perhaps his choices were wrong. He should have told him about his family or at least about his burden as a jinchuuriki. People often percieved the blond haired kid as a stupid one while he was far from it. Simple minded? maybe. However stupid was one thing Naruto wasn't. His pranks showed that. They weren't simple, they were complex traps made of meny phases and were executed with percise planing. In all honesty it was not much diffrent from ninja work. The boy even had a knack for fuinjutsu which was not surprising because of who his parents were. If he stayed in the village he could even have Jiraiya teach him in seals and theories. Now that would be a bit nostalgic, the Toad Sage teaching a blond haired brat. It brought a smile to the old Hokages face.

He really should inform Jiraiya about this Menma situation. Afterall the self proclaimed Super pervert would love to meet his godson after all this time.

_**Menma's hideout**_

A few days since the discovery of the various papers laid in the library, Menma started experimenting with theory on various seals and even higher class Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu was also another art that Menma was very interested in, he even went as far as to combine his two passions in what he calls Nin-Fuinjutsu. A new sub-shinobi art that focuses on enchansing Ninjutsu techniques with Fuinjutsu.

His first creation in the new art was something he calls **Fuin Fire Style: Great Fire Blaze**. It was the **Fire Style: Great fireball Justu **enchanced with the arts of fuinjutsu. The seals on his hands enchance the potency of Fire chakra in ones body. That is not all it does however, it siphons small amounts of raw chakra in the body converting it to wind chakra. So when he starts the technique he draws upon the wind chakra making it a double nature Jutsu. It was quite an achievement and one he was proud of. He had researched about the subject afterall and he didn't find any other person capable of doing something like this.

Another Nin-Fuinjutsu technique he was currently working on was something that he calls the **Repulsion Technique **a devestating Jutsu if used correctly. Of course mastering was another thing altogether as it was something very hard to control. The theory for the Jutsu was very simple acctualy. Make a cushion of wind chakra slowly stopping the object or opponent from coming foreward then solidifying and stabilizing the chakra with seals. The application however was very _very_ difficult. The first stage of stopping the object was hard enough. Too much chakra and the technique would backfire on him. Too little and the object would come crashing on him. No the amount of chakra control needed was simply too high for him at the moment. Even when he does get it down there still came to solidifying and stabilizing chakra. The second part of the Jutsu was much easier but it still required a good feeling for Wind based chakra. Something he didn't have.

Menma sighed. He really did think that he had enough physical attributes and chakra control to obtain higher level of power. But it looks like that was not the case. He needed to train. Train in the very natures of chakra. He didn't even know his affinity something that he has been itching to find out. Even so chakra paper was something very hard to find. Ninja shops around the fire country were rare. Those that did exist however didn't have high quality tools and equipment as such chakra paper was a rarity. All his tools were simply gatherd from bandits or missing ninjas from various villages. He was once lucky enough to find paper in a missing-nin from Iwagakure. But being ignorant as he was at the time, the former blond simply disregarded the paper as just that _paper. _Menma facepalmed at the memory of finding out what the paper actually was.

Even so he really did need to find out his affinitys. Perhaps in other countries it wasn't as rare. He would visit a couple of towns and villages to find any useful information. Then he would most likely cover his tracks and leave. Where should he go was the question though. Perhaps Kusagakure or Takigakure would be good places to visit. In the mean time the places that will most likely have chakra paper are Tanzaku Gai or Otofuku Gai. However these villages have large amounts of Konoha shinobi scattered about. It was a high risk high reward situation. If he could get the paper he would not need to move his location. That would be favorable however beggars can't be choosers.__With that in mind he slowly moved to grab a couple of sealing scrolls labeled ''Food'', ''Kunai'' and ''Basic supplies''. After a few hours of preperation and planning of the trip set forward he started walking to the exit of the hideout. Walking on the bridge he made a plan of places to visit and see. If he encountered shinobi he would most likely run and leave. He could not hope to match Konoha's power at the moment. It is better to stay below the radar for the moment.

_**Otofuku Gai - A few days later**_

The trip to Otofuku Gai was rather uneventful. Most of the time was spent studying new types of seals or working on Nin-Fuinjutsu theory. The raven haired anti-hero spent the nights either in an inn or sleeping in a tree. The only mildly exciting part was a couple of bandits. And even then all he could do was get more practise with his **Repulsion Technique **all in all it was pretty boring in his own words.

Deciding it was best to get some information he started looking around various bars and inns. The information he recieved so far was unreliable and mundane to say the least. The people here simply weren't involved into ninja life enough to know the things he wanted. Sighing he walked into another bar. The Drunken gambler it was called. As soon as he walked in he was greeted by loud voices discussing pointless things. He came up to the counter and started a conversation with the bartender. ''Quite the loud place'' the raspy voiced boy started. The bartender looked for the voice and found out it came from a child. ''Hey kid you're not ol' enough for a place like this you know?'' of course he knew but he was not a child. ''Call me a child one more time and your death will not be swift.'' menace leaving his voice and added with a bit of killer intent it was a scary sight to behold.

The bartender looked frightened. Probably never been exposed to killing intent before in his life. ''Alright alright calm down man.'' He tried to calm the boy down frantically.

''I am perfectly calm. Now tell me is there a ninja shop anywhere in this town'' Menma asked in his raspy voice. This time there was no malice in it just simple curiosity. ''Well'' the man started thinking ''there is that one shop close to our local casino. I don't remember the name'' the bartender of The Drunken gambler calmed down considerably, but he was still somewhat nervous. Understandable from a civilian. He remembered his first time when faced with killing intent. He had a nervous breakdown fearing for his life. He faced a couple of runaway C-ranked nins. They were skilled for the time and he barely won the battle. He still got a scar on his knee to remember that faithful encounter. It was one of his first real life situations. The other was his first kill, but that is a story for another time.

The boy to the world known as Menma turned around leaving the bar. He was thinking through the diffrent possibilitys and options he had in his current situation. '_It is quite late out' _he thought. Indeed it was getting rather dark outside. There were still lanterns out but the visibility was not perfect. In the end he decided it would be best to check in a hotel. That leaves the various locations he got for tommorow. It was quiet out at this time. It was almost serene.

After checking in a local unimportant hotel he did some theory on fuinjutsu and then rested his head on the pillow. He consumed and mulled over the information he recieved today. He thought about meny things. In the end he closed his eyes and was embraced into deep sleep.

**Heyo everyone. Chapter two of Path of Pain. Story of Menma is done!**

**In this one i tried to portray that while Naruto(Menma) is a very strong individualy he is still only human. That he has to work on things massively to get to the place where he is now. Im having a bit of trouble portraying his character. On one side i feel that his raspy voice might not fit him right just yet. Considering that he has not yet shown his darker side. However this chapter is basicaly one where he would get more Jutsu in his arsenal and learning about Fuinjutsu. **

**In the next chapter Menma will more get acquaintences as well as more information about jutsu and fuinjutsu theory. **

**But anyway let me know what you think. For now though SonceGG is out!**

**End Style: END no Jutsu!**


	3. The Choices

''Speaking'' - ''Believe it''

_'Thinking' - 'I don't believe it'_

**Jutsu - Fire Style: Great fireball Justu!**

_**Location - Konohagakure no Sato**_

_**Chapter Three: The Choices**_

People always say you must make the right choices, because you will live with them for the rest of your life. Big and small ones. Ones circumestances influence ones choices. But in the end if you put your mind to something big and great you will achieve it. Fear is something that often stops us from achieving these goals. Only the brave will truly be succsesful.

_**Otofuku Gai - Next morning**_

A black haired boy was waking up grogily in a hotel room. This was Naruto Uzumaki. To the world he was known by the name Menma. He was getting quite known by more and more people.

He was slowly getting up, still processing the information he got on Ninja shops around town and other places aswell. It seemed promising. If he could get chakra paper here in the Fire Country then there would be no need for moving. He would not have to leave his hideout for a long time. 'I have gotten quite attached to that place' Menma still didn't know what the place was called. The name was unimportant however. If he was getting attached to the building then that was a fair problem. Truth be told, he was the calmest when in his hideout. There was no need to constantly check behind your back. It was just him and his work.

After washing and generaly getting ready for his day he finnaly put his trademark facemask on. He liked the mask, very much so. It was strange. People suddenly got very terrified when he was wearing it in public. Remembering of getting the mask got mixed feeling for him. It was one of his last days in his old village. It was something that he wanted very badly for a long time. But just as usual the shops didn't favor him at all. So when he tried getting the mask the man just pushed him and started yelling at him. The then blond boy started shouting himself. This brought a huge argument in to the public area. And everyone was siding with the shopkeeper. He got the mask at the end but only because the owner would rather lose an item then to have him around.

Menma sighed. Again with such thoughts of the past. It really did haunt him sometimes. Thinking about his past home hurt, it really did. But then again it was something he had chosen. He chose to leave and it was the right decicion in the end. Looking back, he wasn't so sure. But again beggars can't be choosers. Bringing him out of his musing he located the Otofuku Gai Ninja shop. It was called _''The Rusty Kunai''. _'_Huh, not a very good name for a shop now is it' _the raven haired jinchuuriki thought.

As he entered the shop he heard bells ringing. He slowly started walking around the shop inspecting the meny weapons and armor that were on display. There were meny katana blades, but overall the shop was not anything special. It was better then most, but that could be only because it was so close to Konoha. That was irrelevant however. All he needed in this building was chakra paper. He couldn't care less if the store was selling dirt when they also had the paper. Slowly walking towards the counter he made his presence known by grunting. After a few moments a man in his mid thirties. He rose an eyebrow but that was about it. A few moments of inspection followed and finnaly Menma started the conversation. ''Hello, I am curious if you have any chakra paper here or in storage.'' again the man rose an eyebrow.

There was something about this shop owner. He seemed diffrent. Trying to analyze his moves, his body language. By this time Raven haired boy knew he was talking to a former shinobi. ''Sorry kid, i just sold my last piece of chakra paper two days ago'' the man apologized. He was irritating looking down on him. But seeing as he had ninja training and was also the shopkeeper of the store he was visiting the former blonde calmed himself down. ''I see, well if i may ask when would the next shipping be?'' Still hoping to get something from this town Menma asked the question. ''Who knows? It could be weeks maybe months before i get the next batch.'' Now that was dissapointing. That means if Tanzuku Gai had no chakra paper then it was bye bye Fire country. After no more then a second Menma was gone from the shop. Not even a sound or a goodbye said. The shopkeeper looked around for a few moments then sighed. ''Strange kid.' he muttered in a hush tone.

Menma was now walking along the road. He couldn't believe this entire trip was a waste. He knew that there were still chances of finding the paper in Tanzaku Gai. But to be honest he would rather cut his losses and just move from this country. He was really depressed about the whole situation. He didn't want to leave, however he would rather avoid Konoha shinboi as much as possible. And thus leaving Fire country would be the best option. Perhaps he would go visit Taki or Kusa. There he would be able to find out his affinitys and possibly practise them in peace. In his head he was already making preperations and plans of what was needed to be brought. He would most likely seal all his work and put it in a larger sealing scroll. The former blond was brought out of his preperations by a loud voice from the other side of town.

''You bastards cheated! There is no way you could have won that much money!'' It was a womans voice, Menma noted. There was visible tension in the area. So much so it piqued his interests. Deciding it would not benefit him to stress over his plans he started walking towards the peacebreakers. It was such a nice day too. Walking along the road the shouting got louder and louder. Walking on to the scene of the _''crime'' _he noticed a young woman with blond hair yelling at what looked like a poker player.

_'Ah, sore losers.'_ It really annoyed the raven haired jinchuuriki that he was taking a break for this. So he decided that it would be best to intervene. He could not mentally prepare for the journey ahead if these fools were yelling their mouths off. Walking up to them he interrupted the peaceful conversation.

''Excuse me'' Menma started. ''But would you be as kind to stop shouting around like a bunch of monkeys.'' He saw the blond haired woman turn to his direction, noticing his presence the woman scowled.

''Oooh gaki and what say do you have in the situation. This man'' she pointed a finger towards the man dressed in a black suit.''cheated in a poker game involving a lot of money. So he owes me.'' she stated somewhat smugly.

The masked boy only narrowed his eyes on the woman. She looked awfully familiar. It was like he saw her face, but he just couldn't place it. Maybe she was someone he saw during his time in the Hidden leaf? Perhaps, asking her about it would be random, but he really didn't care about that. Knowledge _is_ half the power afterall.

''You'' he pointed at the blond. ''Are you from the hidden leaf.'' As soon as he said those words the woman narrowed her eyes dangerously, almost like he said a taboo word. That meant she was from the village and didn't want anyone to know about it. OR, she just had a bad experience with leaf ninja. Both could be a possibility. ''I am only asking because you look familiar. It is like i saw you somewhere before, i just cannot put my finger on it.''

''Pfft, gaki if people like you know me then this world has truly gone to hell.'' What was with this woman? Arrogance was ripping through her voice. Who did she think she was. He inspected her again. Looked up and down until finally something clicked in his mind. This was Tsunade of the Sennin. A member of the most reviered team in Konoha's history. Punches that could collapse entire mountains, summoning of slugs, advanced taijutsu prowess. This woman had it all. And he was talking to her like a civilain. He doubted she was even keeping an eye out for him. She left the village a long time ago. With that in mind he decided it was probably best to keep on her good side.

''I see, i apologize for intervening in your affairs Tsunade-sama. However i would appreciate if you would keep your voices down.'' He quickly bowed and promptly left.

Tsunade was a bit shocked that someone out of the village knew her and recodnized her. She sighed, thinking about it was troublesome. She just wanted her money and leave this place in favor of Tanzaku Gai. However when she turned around to face the man that owed her, she found out he was gone.

Needless to say that even after Menma's intervention things were not peacful.

_**Konohagakure no Sato - Gates**_

Jiraiya was currently walking into his home. The village hidden in the leaves, strongest of the great five, the only village to have one all three great wars. Konohagakure was truly a place of peace because of its powers and leaders. Peace. That was one thing the Toad Sage wanted more then anything. The shinobi world was filled with so much malice and hatred. Brothers killing each other for power, best friends betraying one another for money, families breaking apart because of this world and it was a sad sight to see. Even in these times of peace the world was corrupted by hatred. But that was not so easy to fix. Sighing contently to himself he gazed upon the village he loved.

The village was viberant and lively, as it should be. Children were playing around in the parks, genin were chasing cats and painting fences, the elderly chatting amongst themselves and the adults working hard to let this country prosper. It was as it should be, looking at it almost made him forget about war and the state of the current world. Konoha always was a peaceful place, that he was sure of. But even so the seeds of hate were already laid in the grounds of this great village. This was proven with his own godson, he was very lively and a happy person. But even so hatred changes people and he had only hoped that Naruto lived a content life outside these walls.

Finnaly he reached his destination, the Hokage tower. He loved to look at the place when he was only a child. It was one of the biggest structures in Konoha after all. Jumping up and entering through the window he saw his sensei doing paperwork and not so subtly reading one of his books. That made Jiraiya smirk, the old man would always berate him on being a pervert when he was one himself. Deciding to make himself known he coughed just loudly enough for the Hokage to hear him. The Sandaime turned around and smiled at Jiraiya.

''Hey sensei how's it going, having trouble with paperwork, eh?'' The Toad sage smirked. It was always amusing for him when sensei tried to hide the fact he was a pervert. The old Sandaime started panicking trying to hide the book and failing at it comically. After a couple of good laughs the Hokage decided that it was time for them to get down to buisness.

''I called you because i have information i presumed you would like to hear.'' The god of shinobi started. Truly he was entirely different when in his _''nice old man mode'' _and his _''serious mode''_. Jiraiya was clueless as to what that information could be. Perhaps it was something to do with Orochimaru or the continuous militarization of Kumo.

''I will be blunt Jiraiya. Danzo thinks he has found Naruto. He will try to hunt him down and bring him to the leaf, if he succsedes then he will bring him into his own ROOT. Regardless of what he tells you and me.'' The Sennin listened intentevly, his full focus on sensei's words.

''Well what do you want me to do sensei? It's not like we can just ask him to return.'' really this was something he had no choice in. If he found Naruto and ask him to come to the village then he would most likely reject it. And bringing him by force was less then desirable. In any case he would most likely escape again.

''I am not telling you to force him back here Jiraiya.'' He knew that his student felt guilty about leaving his own godson to the wolves. Even though he had no choice it was still painful. ''All i am saying keep an eye out for a Raven haired boy with a Kitsune mask. If you manage to spot him find out his identity. We are not sure if this is him but it is the best we did so far.'' Sarutobi was still sceptical about Menma being Naruto, but even then he was burning with curiosity. Even if this wasn't their jinchuuriki someone that young and powerful would be definitly interesting to meet.

''Alright, ill do it old man. But you seriosly have to give me more information.'' Really he knew next to nothing at this point. So with that the Hokage told him everything he knew of this Menma. His killing spree, his most spotted areas, his full apperance and lastly the reasons they thought he was Naruto. Truly after an hour the Toad Sage was ready to find this person. Even if they were not his Godson he could bring the boy back to the village in hopes of getting another protigy. Walking out of the gates Jiraiya sighed to himself, this was going to be a long adventure.

_**Otofuku Gai - Gates**_

Voices grumbeling were heard. They were coming from a certain masked Jinchuuriki. Honestly Menma was beyond annoyed. After his talk with Tsunade apparently the legendary ninja somehow lost a civilian due to his intervention. He really wanted to be left alone and that woman would come nag on him like she was his mother. She even tried fighting him when she got more and more drunk. Thankfully her assistant whose name escapes him at the moment intervened.

Who knew that legendary shinobi were so... _soo_... easygoing. Next thing you know the first Hokage will get random acts of depression each time someone scolds him. Now that would be a joke. Sighing to himself, he proceded to walk out of Otofuku Gai. Truly it was one of his most interesting experiences. It was not everyday you get to meet legendary shinobi afterall.

Walking on the road he started thinking about his training trip. Most of the preperations were done in his head. He had enough supplies in his sealing scroll. It was already night out and the visibility was currently low. Deciding it was best to camp in this location he unsealed the tag labaled _''Tent''. _After doing so a medium sized tent appeared in a puff of smoke. After he started a fire he prepared his favorite food RAMEN! Just thinking about the food of the gods as he called it made him drool. It was something he tried to surpress but it just was not to be. The power of ramen exceeded all afterall.

After finishing dinner, he went over some Nin-fuinjutsu theory and went to sleep. His last thougts on his adventure in Otofuku Gai.

**Heyo everyone. Chapter three of Path of Pain, Story of Menma is done!**

**So this chapter Naruto had to make a big decision regarding where to train and live. Honestly originaly i would have him walk to Taizaku Gai and back. But honestly i don't know anything interesting that was happening there. I remember Tsunade was there in the Anime when she got asked to be Hokage. But they already met at Otofuku. So in the end i decided it was just not worth the effort. So in this episode i tried practising more interaction with characters more then anything. Also reinforcing that ''Good'' Naruto and his antics are not completly gone. Do not misunderstand there will be a time where he will be in complete darkness but not for the entire fic. **

**But with that i bid you sirs goodbye!**

**End Style: END no Jutsu!**


	4. The Journey

''Speaking'' - ''Believe it''

_'Thinking' - 'I don't believe it'_

**Jutsu - Fire Style: Great fireball Justu!**

_**Location - Konohagakure no Sato**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Four: The Journey<strong>_

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves. Life is either a great journey or nothing.

_**Menma's Hideout - Bridge**_

Naruto currently had his mask off, looking at the river below him. It was one of the last times he would get to see it afterall. His hideout as it was officialy called was built in a beautiful landscape. So much so that he truly appreciates it whenever he sets eyes upon it. Knowing it was about time to leave.

''I am going to miss this place'' he stated to noone. He was alone his entire life and it saddened him even if a little. Knowing that it was best to not dwell on these things he quickly forgot about it.

He slowly put his mask on, his bangs got in the way of the straps but he quickly removed them. When his mask was on he started walking. Already having a plan in mind of where he wanted to go. First he would go to Kusagakure and hopefully purchase chakra paper, after learning his affinitys he would travel through the Fire country again. Probably making a stop here aswell. Then he would proceed towards a non-shinobi country. There he would be able train without worry. The most promising seemed Rice country and Wave country, however duo to the rumours of a new village in Rice called Oto he would stay away from that place. After his training which would take about two to three years he would proceed to further test his abilitys.

Menma sighed to himself. This was going to be a long trip. He would like to believe that he is mentally prepared, however a part of him is saying that staying here would be for the best. But as said it was a wee part. The masked jinchuuriki started walking due West, for Kusagakure.

About an hour into the journey he sensed forgein chakra signatures coming his way, realising that the chakra potency was too high for civilians he quickly hid inside a bush. Obviosly a jonin would be able to locate him if he really wanted to. But the boy was hoping that was not the case.

Just finishing those thoughs a team of four shinobi speed past his hiding spot. There were two green blurs and two white blurs. He didn't pay too much attention to them, but two seemed identical like twins almost. Sweatdroping at his thoughts he turned his attention back on the road.

Menma wished he didn't have to hide his chakra signature otherwise he would be able to travel in higher speeds. He truly didn't wish to travel as a civilian but it was not meant to be here. Deciding that it would be best to be proactive while traveling he took out a book on sealing and surpression seals. One of Menma's goals he set himself were to try and surpress the Tailed Beasts powers. Truly if he were capable of doing that then he would be set for any other foe.

After five hours of tedious walking he arrived in a spot which he found decent enough to sit down and start camp. He definetly needed something to eat and after that training was in order. He could not afford to get behind on his techniques. Quickly eating his food he now stood before some sort of launching device. It had various logs and rocks on it. This was how he practised the **Repulsion Technique**. He would get a device to throw things at him while he tries to repulse them. Putting his hands together into a half ram seal he muttered ''Kai.''

Suddenly dozens of logs and rocks were launched at him. You would think trying to dodge was the best option, even so he only put up an arm. Suddenly all the objects stopped right before hitting him. If one would look closely they could see a barely visible wind barrier keeping them in place. After about 2 minutes of holding the technique in place he lowered his hand. _''I finaly mastered the technique -ttebayo'' _an excited Menma thought. He was truly extatic about it. The **Repulsion Technique **was always giving him problems. This only meant that he got his chakra control high enough for such a devestating jutsu.

With a few sessions of practising various seals and theory the former blond hit the bed.

_**Undisclosed location**_

Nine holografic figures were standing in a circle. In the middle was some kind of lantern. The largest started speaking. This was the akatsuki the criminal organisation comrpised of S-class missing-nin

''Hmm, how long has it been since we've all come together like this?'' he asked in an amused tone. This was Kisame Hoshigaki, the tailless tailed beast.

''Seven years, **not since Orochimaru left.'' **The venus flytrap looking person replied in a serious tone. It was as if there were two voices talking.

''And now Orochimaru is after the sharingan.'' The smallest of the bunch put his input. If Orochimaru was after the sharingan than that could cause problems within the organisation.

''Is that true Itachi, he's after your little brother?'' the fourth member asked, looking at the wayward Uchiha. Trying to get a reaction from the emotionless Konoha-nin was always a challange.

However Itachi simply stayed quiet for the rest of the conversation. ''Don't get impatient, hmm.'' The final member started, ''We still have three years to prepare, we will deal with our old friend Orochimaru in time. For now we all know what we need to do, right hmm?''

''Of course,'' the apparent leader replied. ''we all know what we seek, no mistakes. We will achieve what we are chasing. Including the Nine tailed fox.'' With the power of the Nine tails they would truly be able to bring peace to the world.

''Speaking of the nine-tailes leader-sama,'' the only woman in the group began, standing next to him. ''we have still recieved no news of his whereabouts.'' This was troubleing. It was not too important since the nine-tails was their last target. But even so, for a jinchuuriki to be so elusive is worrying.

''I see,'' he turned towards the venus flytrap looking person and continued. ''Zetsu it will be your task to locate the whereabouts of the Kyuubi. This is not a priority, for now observe the political situation amongst the nations.''

Zetsu only nodded understanding that locating the Nine tails was a secondary objective. The Fox was the last thing they would seal afterall. ''Yes, leader-sama.''

''You are all dismissed.'' were the last words of the Akatsuki leader before vanishing. The meeting has gone well. They discussed all the importante projects and the location of targets.

_**Next morning - Unknown location - Fire country**_

Oblivious to the Akatsuki meeting last night Naruto was grogily waking up. He was in a pretty good mood too. He finnaly mastered the technique that was out of his reach for so very long.

Slowly he sealed his sleeping bag and began eating breakfast while reading a book about Elemental ninjutsu. He was constantly working on his mind, so much so that perhaps he was neglecting his body. It was not that he was out of shape but his muscles have seen better days.

Sighing he started thinking about his ambition. He truly wanted to make the world a better place, but to do so he would need power and having power demanded work, knowledge and determination. He slowly got up and put his mask on.

His next destination was on the border of Kusagakure and he would be arriving in about three hours of his usual speed. That was alot of time to waste though he supposed it could be worse. Getting chakra paper would be well worth the journey. Knowing ones affinity was essential for a shinobi and it wasn't like he could sense it. Although he supposed that he had either a Fire or Wind affinity.

A few hours of walking and our masked anti-hero finnaly arrived to his first destination. The Hachō Village. A small village on the edge of Fire country, Wind country and Grass country. It was a neutral point between the villages. It was also a sacred place because of its close proximity to ''The Hole'' resembling an ecological oasis in the middle of a barren wasteland. It was used for sacred purposes and also housed several sacred treasures and as such, was rigged with traps to protect against bandits.

Bringing himself out of his musing he realised that it was quite late. The sun was just setting and it wouldn't be in his favor to have a sleepless night. This journey was more tedious then expected.

_**Kusagakure - Week later - Noon **_

Menma was walking out of the Ninja shop, he had finnaly done it. After about 2 months of searching for it, he had finnaly found it. Chakra paper, something that will help his training greatly. Just thinking about it made him excited, he even dreamed of this moment. Finnaly he would be able to start in elemental training.

Calming himself down he sat down on a bench. Grabing said paper he held it in his hand. He started channeling chakra into the paper and to his surprise the paper was split in half and after he dropped it ignited into flames. Quickly putting out the flames he tried to hide his excitement. Two affinitys meant more power with that in mind he grinned behind the mask.

As soon as he noticed his surroundigs he acctualy took in what Kusa had to offer. The village was beautiful in its self. He has never seen any of the other Hidden villages apart from Konoha. The village was surrounded by high grass, it was as large as he was. Hence the name Village hidden in the Grass, a fitting name.

Walking along the streets he noticed how peaceful and beautiful it was. Children were playing in the parks, the adults were working and the elderly chatting amongst themselves. Truly it did not look as though he was in a military village, yet he was. And he knew that as soon as war would strike things would not be as lively. People change in the midst of battle, Menma never truly experienced war he could only imagine what kind of damage it did to people.

''I wish the entire world would be like this all the time'' The masked Jinchuuriki muttered in a low raspy voice. It was one of the only times he could relax and enjoy the view. Deciding that even though he knew his affinitys it was time to take a break. He was mentally and physically exhausted after a week of constant travel.

He sat below the tree and put his back on it. Closing his eyes he simply listened what he could hear. He heard birds happily chirping above him, children laughing and playing amongst themselves, the wind gently blowing against the leaves. It was one of the few times he experienced true peace, he forgot about all the bad times in his life and simply relaxed.

Slowly but surely he drifted towards sleep... never noticing a plant like man dissapearing into the tree behind him. The world was a wonderful and cruel place and it just proved so today.

_**Mountains' Graveyard**_

A lone masked figure was sitting on what seemed like a giant fossil, this was Tobi. His lone sharingan eye gazing upon the landscape. Thinking about the **Eye of the Moon** plan and the easiest way to achieve it. His little organization, the Akatsuki were working slow. He would need to wait another three years for them to start working properly. This left time for his own preperation.

''What is it, Zetsu?'' the orange masked man asked seemingly to noone. After seconds another figure appeared from below the giant fossil. Zetsu never came to him personally unless it was important.

**''**_**Madara,**_**''** the venus flytrap looking man started, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Tobi hated when he did this but it wasn't a problem. ''We found the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, sir!'' the white half told his leader excitingly.

''Have you now? Tell me what have you found?'' It was always interesting hearing about jinchuuriki. The Uchiha clan member wanted to know his enemy afterall.

**''This one is diffrent **_**Madara, **_**he is an easy target we should capture before he gets strong'' **It would not be in their favor to leave a jinchuuriki out in the open without capture. The only reason the Akatsuki hasn't proceeded yet is because most of them are hidden behind village walls.

''He is of no concern yet Zetsu and i doubt he would be able to fight the Akatsuki in years to come.'' From zetsu's first reports it seemed the boy was a go-happy idiot. If Zetsu was worried about him then something must have changed. Of course he knew the boy was no longer in the village, but that wouldn't normally matter.

''He is still weak but he has shown signs of getting better, if you ask me he could be a possible threat.'' The boy was impressive from what he had seen on the roads. Taking on bandits with ease, not even breaking a sweat. If he had assesed the boy's skill he would probably be Chuunin level ninja. That was no small feat for a twelve year old boy, even if he was a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.

''I see, and what of his mental health. He could be a useful pawn if we play our cards right. With the power of the nine tails by our side this game would end much quicker.'' With the boy's harsh childhood he would be immensly loyal to whoever helps him out. If he happaned to be the first one then so be it.

''**I haven't gotten anything solid on his stability. He hasn't shown much emotion on his trip to Kusa. From what i have been able to gather he has only shown happiness when alone.'' **The venus flytrap recalled.

''Very well, try to get to know his personality better. IF, he shows mental weakness report to me immediately'' If he shows mental problems then he could be easy to munipulate and that would grant him another weapon used for peace.

''But sir Leader-sama is also expecting reports'' If Pain got suspicious of the duo then things would not be as easy. Even though Tobi is strong, Pain is on another level in an all out fight, considering his visual prowess.

''Very well, tell him he is elusive. Keep it under wraps until I decide what to do with our young friend.'' Truly fighting the leader of the Akatsuki would not be a favorable exchange.

**''Hai **_**Madara**_**-Sama**/Sure Madara-sama!'' they said in unision while recalling back to the depths of the Earth. Thus ending the chapter.

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><p>Heyo everyone. Chapter four of Path of Pain, story of Menma is done!<p>

**It took me a bit longer to get this one done. Mostly because of christmas shinanigans. So Naruto finnaly got his affinity(s) in check. I was going to have him take on Fire and Lightning at first. But then i realised i would be doing what i hate the most, giving Naruto random abilitys. So with that i gave him fire style and my reason for doing this is and i quote ''Cuz yeah''. **

**Anyways let me know what you think. This chapter was mostly to include other parties into the scene. Menma will go back to his hideout then more then likely to Wave country.I am debating on including an OC. Konoha just has a void in Naruto right now and if he would show his face noone would really be surprised. Parhaps a twin sister. Meh really over done but it works. **

**End Style: END no Jutsu!**


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